The ever-fabulous Holly Dei came to visit this weekend! I picked her up at the Tulsa Airport on Friday, and after settling in and changing, we had dinner at Andolini's and caught up on each other's lives, families, politics, and future plans. It was really good and fun to reconnect with her! I hadn't seen her since 2012, but we have more in common now than I expected, which is always a good surprise! =)
On Saturday, we drove to OKC (she caught up on work emails while I sang along to Hamilton songs). We met up with the whole fam at Jace's first CHA soccer game, which was cute and fun in spite of the crazy Oklahoma winds!
We came to Mom and Dad's for lunch, where Holly tried hoverboarding with some assistance from T-man (I've definitely never set foot on one, so I was impressed with her for that). lol She quickly became a favorite of the kids, and it was fun to see her giving them high fives and encouraging them as they showed her all their latest tricks! =)
Holly requested Chick-Fil-A for lunch, which worked out pretty well for the hypersensitive palate of the kid on her left. lol (They both requested to sit by her!)
Kate arrived around 2:30 and brought her new baby, Evelyn! ❤
Mom wrote letters to Kate and Holly, so I took this pic as they opened them. =) Holly had some very kind and heartfelt things to say about Mom, so it was nice for them to reconnect, as well!
Group pic of the girls before Megan arrived!
Holly, Rach, Kate, and Megan were all part of CHA's class of 2004. (*Fun fact: I was homeschooled for one year in 8th grade, which was their 6th grade year and the year Megan's fam joined CHA... so that was when I befriended their class and began to prefer hanging out with them to my own classmates, and it stayed that way throughout high school and beyond.) =)
J was excited to get to hold the baby!
Megan is extra-busy lately, teaching at OBU while studying to get her PhD in Nursing Education!! She joined us around 4:00 and we got a pic with all of us before Kate left to return home to Dallas! ❤
Mom joined me, Rach, Megan and Holly for dinner downtown at Abuelo's, followed by Insomnia cookies and a mini-tour so Holly could see what was new in downtown OKC. =) Our convo at Abuelo's was memorable, going around the circle one by one and giving a life update followed by Q&A. Holly was very generous and bought our dinner (along with my dinner Friday and lunch on Saturday), and when Mom objected and tried to get the ticket, Holly said, "Maxine! Remember all the things you bought me and did for me throughout high school!? Well, just think of it as you get to buy 100 times, and then your 101th is free!!" lol (It was a very Holly thing do say, and it randomly made me happy that she said 101th instead of 101st. lol)
We went by the Parrish house to drop Rach off and say goodbye to the kids, then we chatted a bit more with Mom in the car... then Holly and I made the late night drive back to Tulsa. Sunday was the time change, which means we get longer daylight hours, and I'm already loving that! We slept in and then met Sarah for lunch at Mother Road Market (my first time there, and it was pretty cool - HW and I had Oklahoma Joe's BBQ while Sarah had Chicken and the Wolf). We covered a long list of topics, and it was fun seeing her and Holly's interaction! We all got ice cream, then ate it as we chatted in the car...
...and as Chet patiently waited on us at the Gathering Place Lodge. lol
It was a chilly, windy, cloudy day, so Holly decided a walk through the park was a no-go. She is still as decisive as ever, knowing exactly what she wants and how she wants it, and I love it! lol Steve met us around 4:30 when he got off drill, and we made our own "vignette" chair arrangement and chatted for a while in the Lodge, which was new to me and really nice - I'm a fan and should go back there more often! =)
Chet went home to have a healthy WW meal (he's 15 pounds down already, so I need to rejoin him and try to hit the 20-pound mark at the same time). lol The Fultons went home to change clothes and tend to Loki, and Holly and I met Laura at Red Rock, where the Fultons eventually joined us again for dinner. It was tasty food and another good, long convo... everything from our individual jobs to politics to Coronavirus to Grey's Anatomy to the royal family. lol
Back at home, Holly and I talked for a bit about how I should come visit her in San Francisco and tour Napa Valley sometime (and other possible future vacations). Then we said our goodbyes and went to bed so I could rest up for the jury trial that ended up going away today (yay!!). She left this afternoon to head to Dallas and San Antonio, then back to SF.
Less than three months into 2020, the connection theme is going strong for me! It was Holly's signature blunt advice of "If you're not happy about how things ended, you should at least try to reach out and do something about it" to Sarah Bliss that caused her to reach out and reconnect with me in December. When Sarah told me that, I could totally hear Holly saying it! It made me laugh, then it inspired me to reach out with kindness to another friend, which led to another very unexpected reconciliation that same month. I messaged Holly to tell her thanks for her words that created a positive ripple effect... and she messaged back saying she loved that and would LOVE to come see me and hang out with Rach and Megan again! The month of March ended up working out for her schedule, and Kate was in town seeing her family this weekend, so everything lined up for the five of us to reconnect... and it was good, better than expected!
I tend to get irrationally nervous about these things, but I'm thankful it all worked out! I have no desire to turn back time or go backwards on any life progress I've made, but there's something really great about reconnecting with people who knew you "way back when" and still love you. We spent a small amount of time reminiscing, but there was so much new stuff to discuss! This weekend made me feel more hopeful about future gatherings with old friends and thankful for the five women I've reconnected with over the past three months! It was fun introducing Holly to the niece and nephews and seeing her connect with them, and then doing the same with some of my Tulsa friends, all of whom she loved! With the CHA girls, it was fun to see the way each of our lives have progressed and changed, and to encourage each other in that and in future goals (adoption, marriage, school programs, etc). We agreed during our Abuelo's dinner that "we're all gems." ❤
Other Holly quotes that made me laugh:
- To Mom: "Maxine, you're so lucky to get to see your grandchildren every day!! I mean, think about Prince Charles...he never gets to see Archie!" She was totally serious, but we definitely all laughed.
- Touring Mom and Dad's house: "Is this not the biggest refrigerator you've seen in your life? I mean, that's the size of some people's apartments! OMG, it has Mike Muecke water!!!" (Dad's SF labels on the water bottles. lol)
- To Steve after he told us about their fitness test: "But WHY do you have to be in this good of shape when you have guns!?" I hadn't really thought of that. lol
- Talking to me about the 2020 elections: "I mean, if Trump's gonna win it anyway, then Bernie might as well get the nomination, because those debates and the SNL skits that followed would be comedy GOLD!" ...She's not wrong.
- After spending lots of time with all four kids: "Maybe I should rethink this adoption thing - that was exhausting! I need a nap!" ...I've had the same thought a few times, but one kid vs. four is a big difference.
- She insisted on listening to Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves; It's All Coming Back to Me Now; and Total Eclipse of the Heart in the car for old times' sake, holding up an invisible mic for me to belt it out on that last one! lol
- "So if I do end up settling, then this conversation never happened!!"
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